Rep. Suozzi: 'Lives are being hurt' during government shutdown

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) says “people’s lives are being hurt right now” as the partial government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s border wall enters its third week.

Some 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed or are working without pay during the stalemate. The president said he's willing to continue the shutdown for months or years until Congress gives $5.6 billion toward a wall at the southern border.

The president tweeted about the shutdown and workers affected Saturday.

"I don't care that most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats, I want to stop the Shutdown as soon as we are in agreement on Strong Border Security!"

"This is no way to negotiate," says Rep. Suozzi. "Politics should not be what matters here. Doing what's right should matter.”

The shutdown is taking its toll. TSA agents, who are working without pay, are reportedly calling out sick at higher rates during the shutdown.

The agency responded to reports with this statement: "Call outs began over the holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,739 employees supporting the screening process."